BEWARE THE WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING

VOTE NO ON MEASURE X (AIM)

Measure X (AIM) is a Wolf in Sheep’s clothing which would, if passed, change Sausalito forever. It allows explosive waterfront development all over town from North Sausalito to the Spinnaker.

Have you read the 266 pages of  Measure X?  It’s important to realize what you’re voting for. Would you buy a car without knowing what you’re paying or a house without an inspection? Measure X is counting on the fact that you don’t have the time or inclination to wade through the excessive, contradictory verbiage, while Measure X supporters spin a seductive, fanciful tale. 

A respected, independent lawyer with no skin in the game, was hired by Save Our Sausalito to examine Measure X (AIM). Here is her conclusion:

The independent reports are devastating to AIM's [Measure X] case.

Together, they show a high-risk proposal, with drafting errors so severe that the outside attorney flagged that text's plain

reading of one provision makes every use and structure — every single home and business

in Sausalito — legally non-conforming, meaning that owners could lose the right to freely

rebuild, expand, or repair their property. Another provision exposes the City to potential

liability for uncounted millions of dollars in an unconstitutional taking.1

The reports document that AIM proposes extreme upzoning — 650 to 900% more building

— on Sausalito’s most vulnerable parcels, with unstudied impacts on traffic, infrastructure

capacity, and the cumulative effect of development already underway. Rather than

providing a solution to flooding from sea level rise, the reports document that AIM repeals

both the existing protections against flooding and the funding mechanisms for them,

replacing both with nothing. Owners can reap a windfall from building and selling while

leaving the liabilities behind for Sausalito to inherit.

And for what benefit?

The reports show that AIM will likely increase rents, not lower them, and displace the very

artist, industrial, and maritime uses AIM claims to protect, rather than help them as new

users with different use via for rental space. Far from preventing new office uses, the

independent reports show office-type uses are newly permitted at 100% of a building's floor

area under other use names than “commercial office”.

In exchange for these risks, voters are asked to give up their right that a vote of the people

is required for zoning changes, by repealing Ordinance 1022 everywhere except the Historic

District. The mechanism that has protected Sausalito's small-scale character for 40 years

would be surrendered.

There are far better options than this error-ridden, high-risk agenda. [Emphasis added]

And herein lies the rub. Unlike this lawyer, the proponents of Measure X are not independent professionals. The leaders of Measure X include a spouse of a land use attorney who has already backed HUGE development in San Francisco and San Rafael, along with developers, landowners, architects and businessmen who would benefit greatly should Measure X pass. 

Just remember, the business license tax put forth by several members of our current City Council in July 2026, EXEMPTED DEVELOPERS while taxing your dog walkers and housekeepers. Measure X does not hold developers responsible for infrastructure, sea level rise, etc. They can take the money and run, leaving YOU, the Sausalito resident footing the bill. 

Vote No on Measure X and let all residents have a voice in our town’s evolution, not just a self-anointed few.